William Kersten received fatal injuries when the District Chief’s car he was driving collided with a Houston Transit Company bus. Kersten was due to be relieved of duty when the alarm for a fire at 7306 Bonham was dispatched. Another five minutes and the driver on the night shift would have been driving and Bill Kersten would have escaped death. Upon receiving the alarm, Kersten wheeled the Chief’s car out of Station 19 toward the location of the house fire. While traveling east on Lyons, he entered the intersection at Lockwood Drive and was hit by the Nance Street bus that was traveling southbound. The Chief’s car was hit with such tremendous force that it knocked over a traffic light and skidded 75 feet from the point of impact. The Chief and three passengers of the bus were sent to the hospital. Bill Kersten, who received more serious trauma, died a short time after being transported to Jefferson Davis Hospital.